Post by oldetowne on Aug 28, 2006 8:56:55 GMT -5
Although nobody seems to be aware of it, the Town Council is having a special meeting tonight at which it will introduce a bond ordinance for $4MM for the purpose of getting a fund of money to buy open space and park land. The hearing on the resolution, I suppose, will be at the next meeting which is the day after Labor Day. That will be your ONLY opportunity to discuss your views on this issue until the November election, assuming the Council passes the resolution.
Personally, I think this is a great concept and is long overdue.
My fear is that it will get lost in the shuffle of the Ned vs. Joe, Ralph vs. Paul and Russ vs. Donna races, as well as the MDC's 800 lb gorilla referendum.
My other fear is that there will be no meaningful information provided to the voters about what the money will be used for (e.g., is it for open space, farmland or parks, or do they just not know), how it would actually SAVE them tax dollars in the long run if it prevents residential development (inituitively correct and can be documented), whether it is in addition to or instead of spending money on Millwoods Park, and whether or not 4MM is a reasonable or realistic figure. It also runs the risk of being a "nice to have" thing that could be voted down by the taxpayers who have been asked to spend tens of millions of bond dollars over the past three or four years (with much more to come) in addition to the 40% property tax increases (ditto).
Finally, it looks as though this is yet another instance of a rushed proposal being thrown onto the ballot without complete due diligence just to create the appearance of activity by the Council. The concept had never been discussed at length before this month and has never been discussed with any committee other than (apparently) the conservation commission. The same complaints that the Council had about "coordination" and "communication" last year with the development on Old Reservoir rings true this year.
Let's hope that this proposal either gets the treatment it deserves by way of full and open discussion or that it gets yanked until it is ready to go.
Personally, I think this is a great concept and is long overdue.
My fear is that it will get lost in the shuffle of the Ned vs. Joe, Ralph vs. Paul and Russ vs. Donna races, as well as the MDC's 800 lb gorilla referendum.
My other fear is that there will be no meaningful information provided to the voters about what the money will be used for (e.g., is it for open space, farmland or parks, or do they just not know), how it would actually SAVE them tax dollars in the long run if it prevents residential development (inituitively correct and can be documented), whether it is in addition to or instead of spending money on Millwoods Park, and whether or not 4MM is a reasonable or realistic figure. It also runs the risk of being a "nice to have" thing that could be voted down by the taxpayers who have been asked to spend tens of millions of bond dollars over the past three or four years (with much more to come) in addition to the 40% property tax increases (ditto).
Finally, it looks as though this is yet another instance of a rushed proposal being thrown onto the ballot without complete due diligence just to create the appearance of activity by the Council. The concept had never been discussed at length before this month and has never been discussed with any committee other than (apparently) the conservation commission. The same complaints that the Council had about "coordination" and "communication" last year with the development on Old Reservoir rings true this year.
Let's hope that this proposal either gets the treatment it deserves by way of full and open discussion or that it gets yanked until it is ready to go.